A Giving Heart

Simone has a giving heart. Every Christmas the Red Cross delivers a poinsettia to Simone for her kind donations. She knits helmet liners for the Daughters of the Revolution to send soldiers. At six years old, she learned to knit at school in France. “I’ve knitted all my life,” says 100-year-old Simone, “If I had all the sweaters I made in my life, I’d have quite a pile.”

Every few weeks her friend takes her to a yarn store in Nevada City to drop off the liners and pick up new yarn. Simone stopped driving at 97, donated her old Toyota to the Eskaton Foundation and moved into Eskaton Village Grass Valley.

She visited other independent living communities before making her selection. “I think it’s the best place locally,” says Simone. She has everything she needs in her lovely apartment. The housekeeper cleans it once a week, she takes the Eskaton transportation to the store, and she enjoys exercise classes every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. When asked what keeps her healthy, she joked about her genes, “I chose my parents very well,” but she’s led a healthy life and wouldn’t miss an exercise class for anything.

Simone grew up on the countryside of France and moved to Paris during her teen years before attending college in Ohio. She taught French for a few years in upstate New York, but mostly raised a family and supported her husband who was a doctor in France during WWII. She and her husband Benjamin traveled extensively through Europe and enjoyed living a long and happy life together in Grass Valley, California. We celebrate Simone’s commitment to health and helping others.